HOUR 4 - Sorsby Camp Stops Fighting + Graphic that Irked Us as Texans Fans + Takeaways from How Imai Got Comfortable

Summary

Payne & Pendergast (Hour 4) – July 1, 2026

Overview

In this lively and engaging July 1st hour, Sean Pendergast and Seth Payne traverse the latest in Houston and national sports, including the Brendan Sorsby eligibility saga, a FanDuel graphic slighting Texans running back Arian Foster, and the Astros’ Tatsuya Imai’s adaptation to the MLB. The show also features good-natured banter on “Quarterback” on Netflix, infamous brushes with celebrity, and the realities of Rockets and NBA free agency. Their signature blend of sharp analysis and relatable conversation makes the episode both insightful and highly entertaining for Houston fans and general sports listeners alike.

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The Brendan Sorsby Saga: Suspension, NFL Entry, and Reputation Rehab

Timestamps: 01:43 – 13:54

• Background: Former Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby’s journey was discussed: after facing NCAA bans for gambling on his own team, Sorsby attempted to enter the NFL early via a supplemental draft. The NFL shut that down, essentially sidelining him until 2027.
• NFL’s Move:
  Seth: “The NFL pretty much has carte blanche to say whatever the hell they want, make whatever decision they want.” (03:13)
  The NFL, perhaps recalling Maurice Clarett’s failed legal challenge, quickly closed the door, minimizing hassles and preempting legal headaches.
• Resolution: Sorsby and his legal team agreed to stop pursuing litigation; he’ll be draft-eligible in 2027 and treated like any other prospect.
• Comparisons to Past “Gap Years”: They discuss how gap years have panned out for NFL prospects, from Maurice Clarett (unsuccessful) to COVID-19 opt-outs like Jamar Chase and Micah Parsons (hugely successful).
• Character Questions:
  Seth: “The thing about quarterbacks is... there does seem to be a correlation between impulsivity off the field and impulsivity on the field.” (11:00)
  The hosts note that Sorsby’s biggest test is staying away from gambling during his forced hiatus—a feat that could prove more valuable to scouts than anything on the field.
• Docuseries Announcement: Paramount+ has greenlit a docuseries following the Texas Tech football program’s tumultuous offseason, featuring Sorsby's story. Peyton: “I am really anxious to see what the Texas Tech spin in a documentary form is.” (15:21)

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Power Ranking Outrage: Arian Foster Snubbed

Timestamps: 24:04 – 29:20

• FanDuel Graphic Debate: Peyton describes a viral running back rankings graphic—nine RBs, “pick three at their peak”—that omits Arian Foster.
• Dissection of the List: Big names included: Adrian Peterson, Saquon Barkley, Marshawn Lynch, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, LeSean McCoy, Todd Gurley, Le’Veon Bell, Ezekiel Elliott.
  • Peyton: “Once I like, okay, Arian Foster. Surely is on a list where they’re being asked to decide to whether peak Arian Foster or peak Todd Gurley…” (25:05)
• Argument for Foster: His four elite years compare favorably or surpass several listed names.
  • Seth: “None of [Gurley’s] good years were as good as Arian Foster’s good years.” (25:17)
• Breakdown:
  Peyton: “At his peak, his peak was better than at least three or four of these guys… If we’re just talking peak…” (25:54)
• Who to Replace: The hosts agree Foster deserves a spot over Gurley, Elliott, and possibly McCoy.

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Takeaways: Tatsuya Imai’s Progression and Astros’ International Approach

Timestamps: 43:33 – 48:23

• Chandler Rome’s Article: The hosts reference a new Athletic feature on Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai, charting how Imai bounced back from early season struggles (and a confidence-bolstering stint in the minors).
• Signs of Adaptation:
  Seth: “He likes these acai bowls that they have at the stadium, but that he’d never even had one before he came to America... That one to me, felt like, oh, he really does feel like he’s more comfortable now.” (43:41)
• Clubhouse Chemistry: Imai connects with teammates—rituals with Stephen Okert, playful “come on, man!” English quips—signaling comfort both on and off the field.
• Strategic Ramifications:
  • The Astros, after pioneering Latin American and Cuban pipelines, are emphasizing Asia as a talent source. If Imai succeeds, it sets a positive precedent.
  • Peyton: “Dana Brown needs to win this one. Like, Dana Brown needs Imai to continue on this trend... Ima’s probably making more than the other guys he brought in or making combined.” (48:06)
  • Seth: “He’s the most exciting of the additions, when you talk about his ceiling and what you can see when it’s working.” (48:06)

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Briefs & Banter: NFL, NBA Free Agency, and “Quarterback” on Netflix

Timestamps: 15:31 – 18:28, 36:05 – 38:27

• “Quarterback” Docuseries:
  • Peyton: “It’s shaping up to be maybe the most depressing season of quarterback ever because it’s all injured guys or guys who failed last year.” (15:47)
  • They debate past seasons and which QBs came off best; Kirk Cousins scores well, while Mariota comes off “sad.”
• Rockets Free Agency:
  • The Rockets make measured moves (Marcus Smart, Bogdan Bogdanović), leading to impatience among fans hungry for a splashy acquisition.
  • Peyton: “If you’re a Rocket fan that was looking for a big swing... the sample of big moves that are available to you are running thin right now.” (37:05)
• Jaguars Roster Moves:
  Seth is baffled by the Jaguars’ “let key players walk and trust in compensatory picks” approach, calling out their GM’s arrogance. (31:16+)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Sorsby’s NFL Hopes:

• Seth (10:56): "The thing about quarterbacks is... there does seem to be a correlation between impulsivity off the field and impulsivity on the field."
• Peyton (12:51): "If he proves. I think it’s... more impressive... proving he’s not succumbing to gambling in a year like the one he’s got coming up."

On Arian Foster Exclusion:

• Peyton (25:54): “I tweeted as much and obviously got a lot of agreement from Texan fans and a lot of... ‘look at this clown’ from fans of any of these other teams.”
• Seth (26:28): “Like, which means that Arian Foster should be on here.”

On Imai’s Integration:

• Seth (43:41): “He likes these acai bowls... he had never even had one before he came to America... that was a good, hopefully, indication that... he’s getting comfortable and coming into his own.”
• Peyton (47:45): “Dana Brown needs Imai to continue on this trend... he needs this one.”

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Celebrity Encounters: The Nipple-Twist Heard ‘Round the Station

Timestamps: 51:26 – 58:56

• The hosts share favorite celebrity run-ins, notably Sean’s encounter with Kevin Costner, who, during a Draft Day promo interview, inexplicably twisted Sean’s left nipple—a story filled with self-deprecating humor.
  • Peyton: “Did I just get to second base with Kevin Costner?” (55:04)
  • Seth: “I like that you remember which side... the phantom pain still exists.” (55:05)

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House of the Dragon and TV Show Musings

Timestamps: 21:42 – 23:50

• Seth and Peyton’s “House of the Dragon” digression highlights their dynamic, with Seth asserting leaders can’t be too emotional, drawing parallels between TV characters and NFL quarterbacks’ leadership (“You can’t be caught up in all of your own emotions...” (19:11)).
• Peyton delights in the challenge of “genealogy and incest and government talk” (22:28), echoing how viewers need to study up to follow along.

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Audience Q&A & Community Interaction

• The final segment is rife with inside jokes, questions of the day (brushes with celebrity), and reminders about upcoming charity opportunities—reinforcing the sense of local community.
• Seth, on lunch with fans: “Sometimes we even tell stories we can’t tell on the radio. That’s the good ones.” (59:36)

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Key Takeaways

• The NFL has effectively imposed a de facto one-year ban on Sorsby, but the issue likely isn’t fully dead for risk-averse teams next draft season.
• Arian Foster’s career remains under-appreciated nationally—at least by slick Instagram graphics—but the locals have his back.
• Astros fans can be encouraged by Imai’s off-field comfort and on-field improvement—a potential bellwether for GM Dana Brown’s global approach and job security.
• Power rankings, docuseries, and even celebrity nipple twists are all fair game on a typical Payne & Pendergast ride, blending sports acumen with classic Houston humor.

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For more deep dives, relatable fan angst, and untold behind-the-scenes stories, Payne & Pendergast keep Houston buzzing from 6–10am each weekday.

Transcript

[Peyton Pendergast]

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[Seth]

Braan, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Peyton Pendergast]

All right, into the 9 o' clock hour we go. Peyton Pendergast with you on a. On a Wednesday.

[Seth]

It's Wednesday.

[Peyton Pendergast]

It's Wednesday. It's a short week for us. We're out on Friday.

[Seth]

That feels like a Friday. Only because I feel like tomorrow we're really going to phone it in big. It's not going to feel like a real work day at all.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Essentially going to be literally like almost figuratively in our cars, driving out of town.

[Seth]

It'll probably be one of the best shows you and I have ever done. Typically when you go in and just don't think about it, you know.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep.

[Seth]

No mind. As the Japanese would say, that's it, man.

[Peyton Pendergast]

So the latest in the Brendan Sorsby situation, which has provided us some nice content through the last few weeks, did not, you know, the beginning of the year, I'm like, you start to look at the summer months. You're like, what can carry us through the months of June? I did not have degenerate gambler quarterback trying to petition his way into the NFL on my bingo card.

[Seth]

You can't predict when, you know, you can't predict the things that are going to disrupt your life.

[Peyton Pendergast]

That's right.

[Seth]

Like personal computers in the 1980s.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep.

[Seth]

The smartphone in the 2000 ought to. And then Brendan Sorsby in the 2000 and twenties.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Same exact thing. So. So we know Sorsby's deal Was. He was, you know, he, he sued the NCAA to get an injunction for their ban on him successfully. And then the Big 12 kind of boat up and said, no, no, no, we're not letting you play. We're gonna, we're. We're gonna litigate, too. Which kind of frightened Texas Tech into convincing Sorsby to declare his intentions to go pro in a supplemental draft that the NFL subsequently said, no, that's not going to happen. So now.

[Seth]

Yeah, yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Man, without a country. Right.

[Seth]

You know what? I got to. I got to recognize the strategy of the NFL here because I think they figured, especially because sbe was being represented by a lawyer who has taken on the NFL before, and they're kind of looking at it and they're saying, like, all right, well, what's the thing that we have the most latitude to do? And it comes to the, the supplemental draft, it feels like it's. The NFL pretty much has carte blanche to say whatever the hell they want, make whatever decision they want.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

So they, like, they kind of went back to the way Goodell used to operate, right. With punishment choices where I'm going to do whatever I want, but he can't do that anymore. But now he's like, oh, okay, we just won't let him into the league, and then we don't have to think about it.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, it's a good point. Like, I think, if I had to guess, the NFL is probably looking at this whole situation from afar before. Even before he declared for the NFL, even when he was suing the ncaa. They like the. I think most people, I think most people that are sports fans were looking at it going, this guy shouldn't be allowed to play football this year.

[Seth]

Right.

[Peyton Pendergast]

And I. So I think the NFL probably looked at and said, okay, now this kid wants to come into our league. You're absolutely right, Seth. Like, what's the, what's the way with the. With the least amount of legal entanglements that essentially serve as a one year suspension for him.

[Seth]

And I guess, and I guess. And I don't. I'm getting way out over my skis here. But as I understand it, they already had a precedent because of the way the courts handled Maurice Claret back in the day, that they felt pretty rock solid about this and that, like, okay, then we're going to do this. This is the least headaches. And the kid, like, without, like you can. Even people that would say, yes, he deserves a chance to play. I have a hard time thinking there's a lot of people out there that think that gambling on your own team, no matter what age you're at, should be punished by two meaningless regular season games early in the year. You know, like it just it outside of Texas Tech people, there needs to be more of a punishment than that because you got a lot of people that feel like that you should never be allowed to play again after you've gambled on your own team, no matter what age you are. But like the spectrum's got to be somewhere between a one year suspension at minimum and then something. If it's more egregious, then maybe you go more than that.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. So Adam Schefter tweeted this yesterday and this is important because when the NFL said we're not going to have a supplemental draft, then Brendan Sorsby's lawyer Jeffrey Kessler started saber rattling and saying, oh well, this isn't how the, this isn't how the collective bargaining agreement, bargaining agreement supposed to work. Even though Sourcebee technically isn't even covered by the collective bargaining agreement yet.

[Seth]

Right.

[Peyton Pendergast]

So he was saying no, he was making noise like they were going to sue the NFL to get this kid into the NFL this year, which would have been fascinating. I think it would have been a disaster and I think it would have been really bad for Soursby. Everybody put their weapons down. Yesterday, Adam Schefter tweeting a memo was sent to all NFL teams saying that the NFLPA and Brendan Sorsby was will not be pursuing any further litigation regarding his entry into the NFL and that instead SBE will focus on his preparation for entry into the 2027 NFL Draft. SBE will be considered a draft eligible player for 2027 and will not be eligible to sign a contract with the NFL until the completion. Until he gets drafted basically in, in 2027, not in this tweet. But also worth mentioning is that he will be treated come draft season next year just like everybody else. He'll be allowed to participate in the combine. He'll be allowed to be one of and I would imagine he'll be on the list for several NFL teams to have a 30 visit to the facility. You know, he fits, he fits the criteria to a tee of a guy that teams are really going to want to interrogate. You know,

[Seth]

the athletic did an article. This is interesting. Like, man, it's, it's rare for there to be a gap year for guys between their last year of college football and then, you know, wait a year and then play football. And it's like the examples they bring up and I don't think they're just cherry picking. They're kind of trying to go through and make a list. It's either. It's either really bad or really promising. So like Maurice Claret couldn't enter the 2024 draft. He was out. Ended up just barely playing in the NFL.

[Peyton Pendergast]

2000. 2004.

[Seth]

What did I say?

[Peyton Pendergast]

2024.

[Seth]

Oh, yeah, that's way off.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Seth]

Mike Williams, the USC receiver, One of many Mike Williams who would play wide receiver in the NFL, but he never did much in the NFL. But then you go to service academy graduates and you get guys like Roger Staubach.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Worked pretty well for Roger Staubach.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Was the Chad Hennings in that Chad Hennings?

[Seth]

Yeah, he was another one. Yeah. Yeah. But then you go back to guys like Josh Gordon. You know, the guys that were got out for some kind of a disciplinary reason. Hadn't worked out too well. Now if you go to the COVID 19 opt outs, they didn't, it's. They didn't mention them here, which offends me. But Nico Collins.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep.

[Seth]

You know, Nico Collins didn't play a year of football and got a slow start to the NFL. But he was also in a pretty bad situation. It's worked out pretty damn well for him. Jamar Chase was an opt out.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Mike Michael Parsons was an opt out.

[Seth]

Yeah. Back in the day, Sewell was an opt out.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Penny. Yeah, boy. I mean, you're talking about with Jamar Chase. Micah Parsons went healthy and Penne Sewell. You're talking about three guys that you could argue at their peak were the best at their position.

[Seth]

And the thing about those guys is that they were all drafted in the top 13.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

They didn't mention Nico because he got, he didn't get drafted in the first round, but you know, it didn't. I don't think it hindered his, his career as much. He's a guy that really could have used one extra year of production and maturation that maybe would have. Because remember when we were watching Nico Collins during training camp, you were like, if you walked out there, my impression was if I walked out on the field and somebody said, hey, Seth, pick out who the Texans first round pick was because they didn't have one that year. I would have looked around the rookies. Oh, it's that guy for sure. He definitely went in the first round, right, Pops? Yeah. So like quarterback. It's a little trickier than that because you're not going off of physical traits as much. But I think that it could potentially. He doesn't have the body of work that Jamar Chase, Penny Stool, Micah Parsons and Rashawn Slater had. Brendan Sorsby doesn't. Yeah, but, but like, I think teams aren't going to be as scared off by it as long as he's done a good job with his rehab and. And all that.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. It's funny, you know, it's. As Texan fans. Yeah. Like, right now there's, you know, there's not even a conversation about should the Texans be looking at Source Beer. They're just. It doesn't seem like they're in a quarterback market, but that can change during the season. You brought this up earlier. You said, boy, like, if CJ has. The first four games don't look great. If the first four games. I mean, certainly if the first four games look like that Patriots game, this, the city's going to be burning to the ground. But even if they look like the Steeler game, let's say.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Minus the, you know, like, he's not fumbling the ball five times, but it's very inconsistent throwing the ball, but he has some wow throws here and there. I mean, keep in mind, they won that game 30 to 6. But CJ didn't generate 14 of those points. You know, there was a, There was a scoop fumble score by Sheldon Rankins and there was a pick six to close out the game by Kalen Bullock. So it's not like things were great offensively in that game. If the first four games, even if they're 3 and 1, but CJ's not looking great. Like, if they're 3 and 1 and they're winning games 17 to 13.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

I don't know, man. Like, I'm going to start watching some of these college games.

[Seth]

I think it's 100% fair. Like. No, no. If it. And Sean, like, honestly, if all of a sudden he comes out, the last two times we've seen him, he has not been himself. There's a lot of pressure on him, and it looks like maybe he just been pushing too hard. You know, when. You know how much pressure is on him right now. A lot of pressure. A lot more pressure on him right now than. Than there probably has been at any point in his career.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Well, especially when you factor the money in, you know, that he's playing for a contract, too.

[Seth]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think. No, I think that with Brendan Sorsby, I'm. The thing about quarterbacks is that I've always looked at that position as the one where Man, I really want to look at the off field stuff because there, There does seem to be a correlation between impulsivity off the field and impulsivity on the field. And if you go and start looking at quarterbacks that throw a lot of interceptions, for instance, James A. Young Jameis Winston, a young Brett Favre, a Johnny Manziel, like these guys, the impulsivity off the field does seem to carry over. There's other positions where sometimes you look at impulsivity off the field and you're like, defensive line.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And you might be like, yeah, it's kind of. This guy's kind of wired the way I want. All right, you know what? I was like, he's got some issues, but I kind of like his moxie.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Quarterback is the opposite. So with Sourcebee, it's not just the ethical part of it, it's also that, all right, quarterbacks that show impulsivity off the field, like, there's. There's a correlation to how they perform on the field. So how much does that. And it's, you know, in the modern, in modern football, it's more of a check against you than. Than it was in the past.

[Peyton Pendergast]

You know, in some ways, you know, Brendan Sorsby is about to head into this year where he's probably going to be working with his quarterbacks coach, as you mentioned earlier, probably doing interviews, you know, like. Like interviews with media outlets to cleanse his image or whatever.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

The biggest thing Sourcebee can prove to NFL decision makers is that he's not gambling anymore. And in some ways, having a season like this where he's not around a team every day, he's not. I. You know, I don't know if Texas Tech is still going to make the resources available to him to deal with his addiction to gambling. I have no idea. But there's no doubt he's going to have more idle time on his hands.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Texter text in says now he's got nothing to do. All he's going to do is gamble all year. Lol. If he proves. I think it's. I think it'd be more impressive. I think proving that he's not succumbing to gambling in a year like the one he's got coming up might be to the NFL more impressive than anything he could do on a football field.

[Seth]

Yeah, that's. No, by far. When people talk to him about what his process was like over the course of this coming year, that they're going to want to see. All right. Did you build structure into your Life, because that's what keeps you on the straight and narrow is like, you've got to have some kind of structure in your life. You've got to have some kind of a plan. I'm guessing that he will and just like, did he abide by that structure? That's the thing that's going to, you know, the, the. It needs to be done with actions more so than words.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And he's got to be able to demonstrate it without being annoying and on Instagram all the time. So just demonstrate that. Yeah, I had this plan. This is what I was working on. This was my daily routine and all of that. Teams will be. I don't know if impressed is the right word, but that's what they want to see.

[Peyton Pendergast]

It'll help. It'll help. Did you see that Paramount plus is going to be airing a docu series on the Texas Tech football programs off season dominated by the Brendan Sorsby saga. Yeah, apparently it got announced yesterday that on Monday. I guess it got announced on Monday, Paramount plus announced it his green lit a docu series chronicling the Red Raiders off season. The docu series began production in January and is supposed to offer, quote, unprecedented access. According to a news release, four episodes are expected to begin airing before the start of the 2026 season. What's interesting to me about that is obviously they've had cameras following people, people in the facility and with the program and with the school around, because I don't think you don't announce that it's been greenlit when the off season's practically over. So that means whatever they've gathered probably makes Texas Tech look pretty favorable in this.

[Seth]

Oh yeah. There's going to be a scene in there of Joey McGuire just like crying. Crying. You would have used the little eyedroppers and be like, I just care about the kids so much. Yes. I'm just worried about him. I just, I feel like the best thing, the best possible thing for him was going to be for him to come play football. And they just. Boy, it's just hurts.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Zoom in with like dramatic music and he's got the one tier like the Native American standing on the hill looking at all the trash that everybody's thrown and on the ground. And Joey Maguire's just got that one tear streaming down his cheek.

[Seth]

I just want to do right by these kids and I feel like I failed them.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, I will watch this because I've been fascinated by this whole story and I am really anxious to see what the Texas Tech spin in a documentary form is.

[Seth]

When's it coming out?

[Peyton Pendergast]

Expected to air. Begin airing before the start of the upcoming football season. So what are we.

[Seth]

So july first month. Yes. We got court. Quarterback comes out sometime in July, too.

[Peyton Pendergast]

July 20th. Ish.

[Seth]

Okay. Like right before training camp.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. Which. And it's shaping up to be maybe the most depressing season of quarterback ever, because it's all injured guys or guys who failed last year.

[Seth]

Who is it?

[Peyton Pendergast]

It's Baker Mayfield. It's Jaden Daniels. You know, Baker didn't get injured, but the Tampa Bay season slid off the rails.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Jaden Daniels was hurt all year long, probably.

[Seth]

We might see a clip. We'll. We'll know. We'll definitely see at least a clip of him scrambling for a first down against the Texans.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Oh, BAKER Mayfield. Yeah. 100% in week two. So it's Baker Mayfield, it's Jaden Daniels, it's Cam Ward. You know, so we get to watch.

[Seth]

Get some Texans action in there.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Definitely get some Texans action there. But it'll be mostly watching a number one overall pick get his ass kicked all year. And then Joe Flacco is the other one. I'm actually most intrigued by. Flacco, like, he's got traded, right?

[Seth]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He got traded in the division. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The. You know, because that. We'll get that. Because, you remember, Tomlin weighed in on that, too. Tomlin was all hissy about it. There was a lot of drama. There was. With Cam Ward. The one moment that intrigued me from last year was that they had a victory late in the season, and Cam Ward got at the podium, and basically people were criticizing him for not being more excited about the win than he was. Where I, like, I kind of looked at it as Cam Ward was saying, yeah, we've got higher standards than this. I don't want to. I don't want to celebrate just one victory so much. And it became oddly polarizing. I was kind of impressed by it. All the reports about Cam Ward is that he's just a. A super mature young man.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yes.

[Seth]

So. But I'm. I'm guessing that they'll. They'll spend a lot of time on that. One little chunk of that I'm looking forward to.

[Peyton Pendergast]

I liked. I've liked the couple of seasons they've had. I've always come away feeling. Other than Marcus Mariota. I've always come away from watching that series feeling more favorably about the guys they've had in it.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

And I don't know that that's the. I don't Even think that's the intent. I think they're just. Mahomes annoyed me just because we got a lot of.

[Seth]

Oh, yeah, we felt. No, we didn't. We were more negative about Mahomes and definitely about Mariota. Mariota. Mariota just looks sad all the time.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. If I. If I In that series, the. Of all the quarterbacks they've done in the two seasons that they've done it. If we went through and said, did you come away from quarterback feeling more favorable, less favorable, or the same? I would have said slightly less on my homes. Just because he was annoying. And it turned into like a Chiefs season highlight video.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Because Mariota definitely less favorable. Kirk Cousins in both seasons, I came away feeling more favorable about. I liked Cousins in both series.

[Seth]

I don't like seeing quarterbacks be overly emotional in the same way that when I'm watching people on a Netflix series when they're in a position of leadership.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

I don't want to see them just kind of falling apart emotionally and sobbing.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

When they are desperately needed to lead.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep.

[Seth]

So I don't want to give away a spoiler here.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

What's the role? And now, like, how's the dragon came out. It was on Sunday was the newest episode.

[Peyton Pendergast]

The new season came out.

[Seth]

I can say something about, like, the latest episode of House.

[Peyton Pendergast]

I give it a go set. The text page will tell you whether.

[Seth]

Spoiler alert here. Okay, everybody. So, like, there's a point where, like, okay, so she. She loses a family member. A very, very close family member. Awful. Awful. Right. But you are the Would be queen. Like, you need to. You need to get over it. You're like, you're not allowed to be sad in this moment.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Right.

[Seth]

So whether you're a quarterback.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep.

[Seth]

Or a queen or a king or whatever it might be, you can't be. You can't be caught up in all of your own emotions when you're being asked to lead. Maybe if somebody gets hurt on the football field and you're upset about it, for example.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Right.

[Seth]

You've gotta.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Seth]

So that's how I. That's why Mariota was like, like, all right, dude. Like, yeah, have some composure here.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Quit on the team halfway through the season. Halfway. He quit on the documentary.

[Seth]

I'm not having fun. Yeah. Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

All right. Pain and pendergast with you. All right. I get fed on my social media. A lot of these power ranking graphics. You probably know why I love power rankings. A lot of the ones where you can. They show nine possibilities. But you can only keep three. This one offended me. As a Texans fan, I will tell you why. Coming up next, On Deck is built

[Seth]

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Visit digitallocalads.com to learn more about our local advertising solutions. That's digitallocalads.com okay, people, line starts here. A morning walk, Some bird watching? It's another easy Sunday. UnitedHealth Group makes these ordinary days possible. With partners like the University of Tennessee Health Sciences helping communities manage their health closer to home, 54% of participants have lowered their blood pressure, meaning fewer heart attacks and more Sundays at the park. This might feel like an ordinary day to UnitedHealth Group. It's the healthcare system working better for everyone. Learn [e-mail] commitment. Gone south has been a podcast about crime in the American South.

[Seth]

But for our new season, we're widening the lens. Follow and listen to gone South Season

[Peyton Pendergast]

5, available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify

[Seth]

or wherever you get your shows.

[Peyton Pendergast]

I Pain in Pendergast. You're getting a lot of support for House of the Dragon on the text page as a. As a show. The people. People really like that show.

[Seth]

Support is a show. What about my specific take about Rhaenyra needing to get her crap together?

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, that name is popping up. Yeah. Only decided after Jace died that. Spoiler alert.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Never mind. I'm not going to read these. It's. Yeah, you're getting a lot of support that it's a good show is all.

[Seth]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

So. And my wife started watching. She started over from the beginning yesterday because she'd heard the exact same things you were saying, which is. It got really good. I. It was one of Those series for me that, like, six or seven episodes in, I'm like, I don't know, man. There's just too much genealogy and incest and government talk for me.

[Seth]

There's too much genealogy and, like, the problem is that nothing's ever going to be as good as Game of Thrones. Partly just because of the. I like the actors that were so good, and they were. They had all the original, you know, dialogue and everything from the books.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep.

[Seth]

Where it's just never. It's never going to be the same. But it's once you. Once you learn. I hate saying this. I hate recommending a show by saying, as long as you put in some homework on the side. But there is a little bit of that. Like, you got to, like, okay, I got to really figure out who. But some of it, too, is like, they've got. It's like on the printed page, having two identical brothers, one of which is named Aaron, and the other one is named Aaron. Like, okay, on the printed page, it's easier to keep track of Aaron with an A or Aaron with an E. Right. But they've got these characters in the first couple seasons where you're like, okay, they're identical twins, and they're both named Aaron.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep.

[Seth]

And how the hell am I supposed to know which one is which?

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep, yep, yep.

[Seth]

Very difficult.

[Peyton Pendergast]

She started watching it because I get. She was in the other room, and I could hear the booming theme of Game of Thrones playing in the other room. So she's starting over. Amy is from the beginning again.

[Seth]

You know what they do, too, midway through season two, they do a cast switch.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Of, like, all of the young characters to the old characters. So then even after you've already had to do homework to keep everything. Dude, now I got to learn. I gotta. I gotta learn. Which is which amongst. Brutal.

[Peyton Pendergast]

It was brutal. All right. So I mentioned in the. I mentioned heading into the break that I get fed a lot of. I get fed a lot of those things, Seth. Where you get nine faces on them and said, you've got to eliminate six.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

You know, so they get people to reply as to who the three they're keeping are or whatever. I was a little offended as a Texan fan by one that got sent to me by FanDuel. FanDuel sportsbook. And it had nine running backs on it and it says at their peak. And they're all running backs from the 2000s. You know, I would say they're all running. I'm looking at the. I'm looking at the nine faces here, I would say the oldest one in terms of when they were drafted is probably Adrian Peterson. He was drafted in 2006. The rest of them are all drafted in the 2010s or teens. But it said at their peak pick the three best out of these nine and. And the running backs were Adrian Peterson, Sickwon Barkley, MARSHawn Lynch, Christian McCaffrey, Derek Henry, Shady McCoy at 6, and then Todd Gurley, Le'Veon Bell, and Ezekiel Elliott.

[Seth]

Wait a second. You got to Todd Gurley and I. And I was thinking, where's Arian Foster in this list?

[Peyton Pendergast]

Thank you.

[Seth]

Once I like, okay, Arian Foster. Shirley is on a list where they're being asked to decide to whether peak Arian Foster or peak Todd Gurley.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Gurley had some good years. Like these guys.

[Seth]

He had some good years, and none of his good years were as good as Arian Foster's good years.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Aaron Foster led the league in touchdowns twice in 2010 and 2012. And it's because it says at their peak that's the big thing for me.

[Seth]

Right, Right. Their peak years, like area Foster's peak year, was way better than. Than Todd Gurley's peak year.

[Peyton Pendergast]

I contend. This has been my contention for a long time. And 10, this. About this particular graphic and the nine names I just rattled off. And I tweeted this, I tweeted as much and obviously got a lot of agreement from Texan fans and a lot of. Look at this clown from fans of any of these other teams. Yes.

[Seth]

The worst thing. That's the worst emoji anybody can use on the Internet.

[Peyton Pendergast]

100%. Yes. But my feeling was I'm like, if we're just talking peak because Arian's body of work suffers from the injuries. It's, you know, he only had four really good seasons, but at their peak, I think he deserves to be on a graphic like this as one of the nine. And I would submit that at his peak, his peak was better than at least three or four of these guys.

[Seth]

I was. I was curious about Lashawn McCoy.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Me too.

[Seth]

That was the first guy I went to. And honestly, LaShawn McCoy's peak year. Yeah. Was pretty equivalent to Arian Foster's peak year.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Okay.

[Seth]

Like, which. Which means that Arian Foster should be on here. Like Lashawn McCoy's peak year, he had 1607 yards rushing. He had total yards from scrimmage, 2146 yards average at 100 yards per carry. Yeah. Arian Foster in his peak year was 1600 yard 160016 yards rushing, just about the same 2,220 yards from scrimmage, 101 yards per game. Like eerily similar. And I think that. And they both like if you look at success rate everything else like that, they were. They were pretty equivalent in their. And it was like that for their best two or three seasons. When I looked at it, those guys, they had similar peak production.

[Peyton Pendergast]

I would say girl, to me, if I had to make an argument here that Arian Foster is better than Is in the upper half of this graphic or close to it. I think peak Arian Foster is better than Peak Lashawn McCoy. I think Peak Aaron Foster is certainly better than peak Ezekiel Elliott. And I think peak Arian Foster is better than peak Todd Gurley. That's three right there. So then we can sit here like peak Adrian Peterson might be the best running back in the history of the sport. I'm not going to sit here and like Adrian Peterson was incredible. Part of his ethos was the fact that he came back from a torn ACL and back at a time where the ACL wasn't nearly the formality to come back from that. It is now and was just amazing after that. The other thing I would say about Arian Foster is that we can hit you over the head with all the rushing numbers and the rushing touchdowns and yards per carry and all those things. And I think he stacks up peak area and Foster in all those areas. I blindly, I would say Arian Foster is. There's that on this graphic. He's among the top three receiving running backs and I think he's among the top three pass like pass pro, you know, like cerebral, picking up blitzes. Arian Foster never had to come off the field for any reason ever.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

You know, and you know, except when he got injured, then he had to come off the field because he was hurt. So I was, I was greatly offended by this graphic on behalf of Arian Foster and Texan fans everywhere. Bingo. End of the.

[Seth]

Yeah. So I don't know if they made it on the who were you going to boot off then?

[Peyton Pendergast]

I would boot off. I would, I would replace either Lashawn McCoy if I had to replace one.

[Seth]

If I wouldn't replace McCoy because I would feel like for one he's like, he's better than Todd Gurley. Like at his peak he was better than Todd Gurley's peak if I had to replace one.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. I was just reiterating what I said. I think arian's better than McCoy, Gurley and Ezekiel. If I had to replace one guy, it'd be Ezekiel Elliott, I think Peak. Aaron Foster, I feel comfortable in saying is better than Peak. Ezekiel Elliot.

[Seth]

When. When's the next top 100 release? Oh, they do that every day or.

[Peyton Pendergast]

No, they do it every day. They do it. They do it. They do two every day. They just released yesterday was Jack Campbell, the linebacker for the Lions, came in at number 88, and Ted McMillan, the wide receiver for the Panthers, comes in at number 87. The thing I like about this area of the top 100 where we're just kind of easing into the bottom portion of it. Yeah. Is you start to look at it and go, oh, okay. Well, I definitely.

[Seth]

Maybe the Texans might have tried to trade up for Ted McMillan or something.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, maybe. Well, here's what I was thinking is like, when I see Ted McMillan at 87, I'm like, okay, well, Nico's definitely making it like he's better than Ted McMillan, you know, like, I don't think. And Nico's 32 last year in the top 100, so I don't think there's any danger of him falling out, but you never know what the player votes. Like when Bryce Young made it, ironically, another Carolina Panther at 98, I'm like, all right, well, I think CJ is going to make it this year. Yeah, that was a more debatable 1. Is CJ going to make it? But when Bryce Young made it at 98, I'm like, oh, yeah, CJ's going to make it.

[Seth]

Yeah. And Ted wasn't. I don't know why I said Ted McMillan trading up that. Not. Not in that draft, obviously. We were thinking about offensive linemen at that point. Yep. So the. How many. How many quarterbacks then? So far?

[Peyton Pendergast]

Bryce Young. Bryce Young might be the only quarterback so far. Yeah, I don't have the full list in front of me. The one they announced Today at number 86, they announce him every weekday at 9:00 clock and 10:00 clock they unveil two new players. And so today's 86 and 85. 86 is Tuli Tui Upalutu from the Chargers.

[Seth]

Yeah, he's. He's underrated and under discussed, I think. Yeah. Like, he's one of the.

[Peyton Pendergast]

He's.

[Seth]

He's really, really good. He was one of the guys I was nervous about in that Texans. Chargers game.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep.

[Seth]

The Texans did a good job with him. They did.

[Peyton Pendergast]

They did. So he's 86. Whoever's 85 will get announced in about 25 minutes.

[Seth]

Travis HN's number 96.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And that's one. That's another one of the ones where I get. On behalf of the AFC South, I get a little offended that there hasn't really been that much discussion about the fact that the Jaguars just really did very little to try to improve their team and free agency this offseason with the stated strategy of, hey, we're going to let guys like Travis Hn just leave because we're going to get compensatory picks.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep.

[Seth]

Sometime in the future. But also that even though the Jaguars made an impressive surge offensively in the second half of last season, they were not. They had a hard time running the ball. Yep. And that. That. I, man, just. It's not so simple that, oh, okay, you guys don't need to run the football. You've got Trevor Lawrence back there slinging it. I don't know if that's a. I don't know if that's the right way to approach a season. And yet the. The gm, who's just damn near. He's damn convinced that he's smart, smarter than everybody else, feels like that is the right way to proceed.

[Peyton Pendergast]

They. They let their best player on either side of the football walk in free agency because they let Devin Lloyd walk also. I think you could argue he was their best player defensively last year. They let Travis Ed Chan walk and they. Every draft pick they had was drafted like 20 or 30 spots higher than the consensus out there.

[Seth]

Right. Which is like, I. I'm cool with it when teams supposedly reach on a player here, too. But when you. When you routinely go way above whatever the consensus is, you're either a brilliant or you're a freaking.

[Peyton Pendergast]

That's a Bill o' Brien move, man. Yeah, that's. You're setting up a parlay that has a really, really long shot of even having half of it happen.

[Seth]

Just routinely doing it. GMs do it. Like every GM reaches here and there. And it's. It's fine if, you know, it's. You win some, you lose some, but when you're doing it all the time, it's because you think you're smarter than everybody.

[Peyton Pendergast]

And it was that video that they showed from inside the war room where he. They were getting ready to pick the. The tight end out of A and M, whose name, Bork Chicker or whatever name is.

[Seth]

The. The.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Whatever his name is.

[Seth]

The.

[Peyton Pendergast]

The tight end from A and M that they picked three picks before the Texans took Marlin Klein, where he's like, let's Shock the world. Let's shock the world.

[Seth]

Shock the world. Take the best player on the board.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Seth]

All right.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Pain and Pendergast with you on a. On a Wednesday. All right.

[Seth]

Wednesday is Wednesday.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep, I got it. Coming up next, the Rockets make a signing today. How are we feeling about that, this IMAI article that Chandler Rome has here? All right, Emai is going to start tonight. You know how I feel about current emi. Does this article make us feel even better about where Imai is in his progression as a major league pitcher? And how does that, how does that affect our view of Dana Brown if Imai ends up working out the way he's worked out over most of his recent starts? We'll have that coming up next. Can you grab one more thing? I'll come back up for you.

[Seth]

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[Peyton Pendergast]

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[Seth]

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[Peyton Pendergast]

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[Seth]

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[Peyton Pendergast]

Today,

[Seth]

the podcast Campus Files is back with more stories of scandal, crime and intrigue on college campuses. It is not hard to destroy a college.

[Peyton Pendergast]

It's almost like a university under siege. Listen to and follow Campus Files available

[Seth]

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[Seth]

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[Peyton Pendergast]

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[Peyton Pendergast]

I wonder how Rocket fans are feeling right now. Seth Today's the kind of the first big day of free agency and you're watching Giannis go to the Heat and you're watching Kawhi Leonard is looks like looks to be headed back to Toronto for an awfully big package of stuff for a guy who's in his, you know, approaching his mid-30s, but nevertheless and then you know, even guys that are probably a cut below them like Lamelo Ball and John Morant going places. And the Rockets first big moves are a two year $13 million deal for an aging Marcus Smart and then a 33 year old one year deal for Bogdan Bogdanovich, a shooter. I'm not going to say they don't need both of those things. They need more shooting and they definitely need a backup point guard. But for if you're a Rocket fan that was looking for a big swing at something. The, the names it's things are starting to fly off the board now. You know, you're, you're running out of there. The, the, the sample of big moves that are available to you are running thin right now, I think.

[Seth]

Like the, the big year was last year with Kevin Durant and the. I just, I, I just. It feels, it's weird in the NBA and in sports in general. Everything happens so fast. It feels like the Rockets give you one big thing and then it stays the exact same for a few months. And then there's another big thing like, well, I don't know, Van Vliet getting injured. But then it's that. But then the one big thing is okay, I guess they're going to try to make go without an actual point guard and see if one of these young guys can transition. And that turns into a season long thing where you're waiting all the way up till the trade deadline to figure out just what do they think of Reed shepherd anyway and because they certainly don't seem to be trying to turn him into a point guard.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And. And then it remains the same the entire season because they didn't do anything at the trade deadline.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, it's not a huge signing like money wise by NBA standards, it's a pretty minimal signing. It's Six million or six and a half million a year. And Smart gets a player option for next year. So really, in essence, if he plays well this year, it's more or less a one year deal for a backup point guard. And yet that's a guy I'm like, well, if he was on the team last year, they probably win a few more games, you know, I mean, they

[Seth]

could have been a much different game. It's not about the, it's not about the skill of the individual player necessarily. It's just having an actual point guard like it go. It makes a big difference when you got a bunch of young guys out there.

[Peyton Pendergast]

No doubt. I want to play One quick, funny bit of audio that we played earlier. As long as we're talking basketball, then we'll get to this Tatsuya Imai article that Chandler Romeo did for the Athletic. This was Kendrick Perkins. Keep in mind, yesterday news right about this time was breaking that LeBron James was not going to be going back to the Lakers. That was the, that was the news item. He is going to play next year. We don't know who for. Cleveland as of this morning is a small favorite over Golden State. And then there's several other teams after that. But Kendrick Perkins. This would have been a perfect fit for the Petty cast if it were a Tuesday issues a warning to LeBron's agent, Rich Paul, who apparently Kendrick Perkins was trying to get a hold of as all this news was coming down yesterday.

[Seth]

Rich Paul. Okay, Rich Paul, little turtle head, snotty nose ass called me all throughout the season. Every time I'm on tv, I get a text message from him. I've been calling him for two days now and he been ignoring me.

[Peyton Pendergast]

We got a problem, you know, and it would seem that Kendrick Perkins, you know, in the quid pro quo, was cashing in his side of it, which is, hey, there's news coming down with LeBron. I would like you to reciprocate me answering all your texts and calls while on the air, by the way, which is, I don't know how you feel about people text people that know your job, that know that from 6:00am to 10:00am Central Time.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Every day you kind of need to be focused on what you're doing.

[Seth]

They don't. I don't mind because they. All those people also know that I check my texts about once every 48 hours.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah. So they know the deal.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

See, I got my phone sitting like most of the time sitting like right here. Yeah, yeah.

[Seth]

Then it's annoying because you See it? Yeah, yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

I'm like, you know, I'm working. You know, I'm working right now, I think.

[Seth]

So he called them snot nose. Turtle headed.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Snot nose.

[Seth]

I think there's two. You know what, Honestly, I'm gonna give Kendrick Perkins a lot of credit here because one of our listeners said, you know, we were trying to break down the. Break down the insult. And I kind of thought, man, looking at pictures of Rich Paul, it does remind me a little bit of Cecil Turtle from Looney Tunes. Because Cecil Turtle kind of had this mopey face. Like, even he was smiling. It didn't quite look like he was smiling. You look at pictures of Rich Paul, you can see the resemblance there. But one of our listeners said, well, maybe he just means. He's like, he's being turtle headed. He's pulling his head into his shell when now that there's something important happening and Kendrick Perkins wants to get a hold of him. Yeah, I think, I think he hit him with a double whammy.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, that's as good as an insult gets. You can hit him with two different

[Seth]

connotations and a metaphorical insult.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Cecil Turtle. So he lives in the same ecosystem as Bugs Bunny and all those guys.

[Seth]

Yeah, Looney Tunes.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Okay. He's way down the list, though.

[Seth]

He was reportedly, according to reports, he was only. He was one of the only ones, the characters that kind of sometimes beat Bugs Bunny at his own.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Oh, really?

[Seth]

He'd get his goat.

[Peyton Pendergast]

I, I can't. I can't remember one. I know who he is because I, you know, you see pictures of him. I can't remember one Looney Tunes episode that I saw him in, let alone one where he's getting the best of Bugs Bunny.

[Seth]

I. I remember the one where he murdered Bugs Bunny and then slept with his wife.

[Peyton Pendergast]

You do? Yeah, it was an edgy episode.

[Seth]

That was one of those ones you can't find anymore.

[Peyton Pendergast]

That was.

[Seth]

Yeah, they don't, they don't throw that on the replay.

[Peyton Pendergast]

That was after Netflix bought the rights to Looney Tunes and they started to make it a little more edgy. Yeah, yeah. Cecil Turtle, he's like the Renell Delgado of Looney Tunes.

[Seth]

Like, even from the cartoons opening titles. Avery. Oh, wait a second. From the very beginning, Avery lets on that this is the director of these things. Bugs Bunny is about to meet his match.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Oh, yeah.

[Seth]

And it's a term. This is the first episode he appeared in.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Okay.

[Seth]

Cecil uses several relatives that look similar to him in order to cheat.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Oh, wow.

[Seth]

Rich Paul. I wonder If Rich Paul was in that episode.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Okay.

[Seth]

You know, playing the cousin of Cecil Turtle.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he uses. So Cecil Turtle uses lookalikes, I guess. Huh.

[Seth]

So Cecil Turtle. Yeah, he would confound Bugs Bunny, man.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Not easy to do. Not easy to do. This Tatsuya. In my article, Seth, I'm about two thirds of the way through it that Chandler Rome wrote. It's a really good article. It goes deep on what ultimately might be one of the most important things to happen with the Astros this year, which is, you know, if it continues in this direction. And we'll learn more today when. Or tonight when he. My pitches. But the. The pulling out of the nose dive of Tatsuya Imai season, sending him down to the minor leagues with what was labeled as arm fatigue, but really seemed to be just an effort to clear his head, get his mind right, get his confidence back. Maybe most importantly. Yeah, this article is a really good summary, I guess, of all the various elements to Imai kind of getting his mental game back and how that spilled over into him being much more effective physically as well.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

What was your favorite thing from.

[Seth]

I just like the. Honestly, there's some of the things I like that he like. He likes these acai bowls.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And you're thinking like, oh, maybe this is something like, I don't know what the origin of the Acai bowl, if that came from Japan or not. And he says flat out one of the things that he's gotten more comfortable with is that he likes these acai bowls that they have at the stadium, but that he'd never even had one before he came to America. He had seen that they. He had seen them in Japan, but he never had one. And yet I feel that that one to me, felt like, oh, he's. He really does feel like he's. He's more comfortable now. Like, even one of the things that he likes the most is something that's brand new.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, I don't.

[Seth]

I felt like that was a good, hopefully, indication that in. In a lot of areas in this. In this experience where it was such a culture shock for him that, yeah, he's really. He's getting comfortable and coming into his own.

[Peyton Pendergast]

He's trying new things. Yeah, he's trying new things. I liked. I just like the connection he's having with his teammates, you know, that he's. The chemistry. They tell a story about Stephen Okert having a ritual with him every day where he and Imai's trainer and Ema all bow to each other because that's customary. Where Imai's from, they all kind of smile about it. And that's always a conversation starter for him. You had mentioned this earlier that he's got little quips now in English for some of the guys on.

[Seth]

Yeah. He learns these new phrases and comebacks.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And he like, just. And he's trying to, you know, he doesn't always have the same one.

[Peyton Pendergast]

No.

[Seth]

So one of the ones that they do with. Let's see. See, it's. Well, he does it with anybody, but he does the, he does the. Come on, man.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. With Bryce Matthews.

[Seth]

Oh, it's Bryce Matthews. They try to, they try to scare each other. Right. So they, so I'm guessing they do it like the Monday Night Football. Come on, man.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

I wonder if they told him the whole story about. Come on, man.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. I don't know. Or show them the segment on, on, on, on TV when they do it.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Not that he'd understand the, the rest of it, but yeah, I, I, I was really encouraged by this article. I'm really encouraged by Imai. This is still a starting rotation that I know Dana Brown used the word that it's stabilized. I think it right. I think it's stabilized in so much as you know who most of the guys are in the rotation. It's within each guy. It's been very unstable. Like, you don't know what you're going to get out of each of these guys.

[Seth]

And going back to the off season, one of the things that the Astros told us that they were doing more of is they want to, they want to tap into the Asian market for players more. They want to be able to like, evaluate Asian players better sign them. And like Imai, the Kaiway. They bring in Kai Way Tongue this year, but he's already been in MLB at least the first real big stretch was that this is the first time they've ever signed a pitcher out of the npl. So it's a big, like, it's a big step forwards for them if, if they're trying to really be better on in that hemisphere.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

And try to get players from Asia. If it works out with Imai, maybe it's a good harbinger of things to come.

[Peyton Pendergast]

It would be great, man. That, that would be, that's what got me concerned about the first whatever it was four or five starts of the season he had before he went on the IL was like, God, this they're never going to dip into the Asian market ever again after this. Like, it's such a, this is such a disaster, right?

[Seth]

It would be. Well. And one of the reasons it feels good as an Astros fan is because, look, that's the edge. One of the big edges that the Astros had in the Luno years was that they were. They had a different strategy and approach to Latin American prospects, and it worked like they were willing to sign pitchers when they were over the hill at the age of 19.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

Stupid. I mean, it's stupid that that's how they used to handle it.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

But then, like. But then they got it. Then they up the ante by becoming really aggressive with Cuban baseball players. And a lot of major league clubs were kind of tentative about just how to evaluate Cuban players because of the differences in the league and everything. And the Astros went full bore into it, and they did a really good job with it. But those were both under the supervision of Jeff Luno and Brent Strom, to a degree.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yep.

[Seth]

So that's where. Okay. All right. I like that you're exploring avenues where feel like you feel like maybe you can get an edge over other. Other MLB teams.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Absolutely. And I. And Dana Brown needs to win this one. Like, Dana Brown needs Imai to continue on this trend. The rest of the. He is for a general manager who needs some W's. He needs. He needs this one. Like, it's because he brought in all these pitchers in the off season. But this was by far. Ima's probably making more than the other guys he brought in or making combined.

[Seth]

Right.

[Peyton Pendergast]

You know?

[Seth]

Yeah, this was. And he so far, like, still shows by virtue of his undefinable slider that just defies logic and anything anybody else is. Has ever seen. Yep. He's. He's the most exciting of the additions. When you talk about his ceiling and what you can see when it's working.

[Peyton Pendergast]

No question. No question. You're listening to K I L T AM, KLT FM, HD2, Houston. An Odyssey Sports Station Crosstalk brought to you by DNM Auto Leasing. Hi, guys. How are you? I am great.

[Seth]

How are you?

[Peyton Pendergast]

Static. Are you ecstatic? Dude, the energy that I was able to be a part of last night when it came to Mexico playing, where'd you go? Did you go down to Ito? Yeah, I went to Ito, went to Shell Energy Stadium where the Dynamos soccer celebration was going on. And, buddy, I just thought I was at a soccer man. Like, I thought I was actively. They were going to get out here and play Mexico was going to play on the field down there. That's the way that the energy was in that Building. Yeah. To watch it on the big screens. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What was it? It was. It was Mexico versus Ecuador. Yes, sir. Was the whole place green? It was 97% green. 97. Yes. And I say 97% because the 3% of Ecuadorians that were in the building, there was a small subsection of them that was loud and. And, buddy, the Mexicans turn on them very, very quick. That was a very fun spirit of the World Cup. It was very fun to experience. Like, hey, buddy, you are outnumbered, and you are like Jon Snow against the hordes. Oh, yeah. And it was.

[Seth]

It was. It was very fun.

[Peyton Pendergast]

It was very, very fun to watch that particular. That particular, I don't know, like, relationship happen as well. There was another thing that happened that John gave me crap about, but I'll save that for later. Okay.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

By later, do we mean five seconds from now when John actually. Well, you can give him a little hint. All right. So I was sitting next to a particular group of young Mexican fans. Yeah. Because I just need to find a seat. And I was like, this one open? They're like, yeah, cool. I popped up right in front of me. The row in front of me. There were three. Three, yes. Three young women who were supporting Ecuador. Okay. And the dude next to me was cooking. I mean, like, he was doing the perfect amount of flirting in this circumstance, which was kind of poking at her, but not too much to, like, make her mad enough to, like, have conversation and banter. That's a smart move. And I was like, this dude is cooking, of course, John Lopez immediately just like, what are you doing? No, I said, and you are a bystander.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Oh, you should have some of that action. What is your problem here? She couldn't.

[Seth]

Reginald was researching the history of Ecuador to make sure that he approached her respectfully and didn't insult her culture or anything.

[Peyton Pendergast]

He was getting the.

[Seth]

He was getting the advanced numbers. Advanced.

[Peyton Pendergast]

I was peeing analytics.

[Seth]

What you mean on flirting with someone from an opposing team?

[Peyton Pendergast]

Like, tickling her and making fun of her team? And Reggie's on chat GPT, and he's

[Seth]

texting me, hey, you should see what's happening.

[Peyton Pendergast]

I was like, you're there.

[Seth]

You're right there.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Okay. That's gotta side with Lopez standing right side with Judge John Lopez.

[Seth]

That's right. Which is today, by the way.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, yeah. Good, good, good, good deal. So along those lines, what is the question of the day? Oh, yeah. So inspired, actually, by the Reggie Ron Radio thon coming up on Friday, what's your most memorable Brush with celebrity. Okay. And not necessarily like, oh, Radio Row.

[Seth]

Like an actual.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, like that's almost cheating for people in our business because we run into a lot of famous people.

[Seth]

What's your non sports like? Like an actual exchange.

[Peyton Pendergast]

My funniest one was this. Again, you got to be a wrestling fan to. This is a pretty famous wrestler back in the day, back in the 80s and 90s. Hillbilly Jim. Oh, I remember the name. Yeah, he'll. Hillbilly Jim. He was a.

[Seth]

He.

[Peyton Pendergast]

He was a guy. His character was a hillbilly basically. And he. And he was pretty famous. And he, he ultimately was with the company for so long, they just transitioned him into like a front office role. Like at that time, he was in charge of distributing the VHS tapes to all the video stores. This is like the mid-90s. I ended up sitting next to Hillbilly Jim on a plane for like two and a half hours. And for me, that was a huge nerd moment for me. I'm like, I'm getting a lot of behind the scenes scoop. This is before the Internet. This is in like 1995. Okay. Before the dirt sheets were all on the Internet giving you all the dirt. And so that was, that was mine. That only wrestling fans would appreciate. But I like the ones, like, since I got into radio, it's hard to think of ones that didn't involve me actually being in radio.

[Seth]

You know what, though? Okay. So, okay, I'll cheat. And it's a non celebrity or it's a non sports celebrity. But it happened on Radio Row was when we interviewed Jennifer Garner and at the time she was married to Ben Affleck. I almost said Ben Stiller married to Ben Affleck. And he was about to be in Batman, you know, and we were supposed to be talking to her about the draft day.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Draft day. Yeah.

[Seth]

And we were, but we asked a couple of questions about Ben Stiller and playing Batman where she got like out of nowhere. And I didn't expect at all. Almost. She seemed almost agitated. They were asking about Ben Stiller as if like that was taking the line, like, spotlight from her. Then lo and behold, if memory serves, and we know that that's a dodgy proposition. It wasn't too long after that that reports started to emerge that their marriage might not be so awesome. Yeah, I think, like, she might have been genuinely. It wasn't like a diva type thing or anything. There's a chance that we were like rubbing a raw nerve. Yeah. Like she, she'd headed up to there

[Peyton Pendergast]

with Ben Apple it's funny. Seth brings that up and Tyler Milner texts me at literally the exact same time that you interviewing Jennifer Garner reminded me of my. Probably one of my more disturbing brushes with fame, which is at that same. That same super bowl radio row. We interviewed Kevin Costner on our show. Oh, yes.

[Seth]

For.

[Peyton Pendergast]

For Draft Day. And the reason it was so disturbing is because you had me. You know, we have a long table there where I'm sitting on one side of the long edge there. Rich Lord sitting on the other. This is before it was a triple threat. It was just me and Rich. No Ted Johnson yet. And Kevin Costner sitting at the end of the table, like in the king's chair right now, where we. All the interviewees sit there. And Rich is asking some question to him. It's kind of a long winded question. Long enough for my phone to ring. Oh, no. And Kevin. And my phone is sitting in front of me. And Kevin Costner. Kevin Costner picks up my phone, looks at it, and I kind of grab it out of his hand, like. Well, I'm kind of mouthing it to him, like, hey, that's my phone. You know, that wasn't mad at him or anything, but I'm just like, kind of clarifying, like, you shouldn't be picking up this phone. Sure.

[Seth]

He.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Instead of handing my phone back to me and saying, okay, cool. He looks me square in the eye and with the hand that's not holding my phone, reaches out and twists hard on my left nipple. Kevin Costner. I like that you remember which side? And he just chuckles. Well, I can remember vividly where he was sitting.

[Seth]

Pain. I'm like, the phantom pain still exists.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Did I just get to second base with Kevin Costner? That's right.

[Seth]

Well, based on allegations from a massage therapist. Yeah, that's. It hurt. Yeah. It made me feel like. Oh, yeah. That massage therapist, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know if you remember that. I don't.

[Peyton Pendergast]

I don't.

[Seth]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Okay, so he was reliving something.

[Seth]

He was. That's his deal, apparently. Okay.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. Well, he. And you reminded him of that massage. No, I didn't. No. No, I didn't. But he. But he. We interviewed him a year later when he was coming to town with his band. I hope you asked him his man. No, it did. So he's in town. I'll make this quick. Yeah, he's in town with his ba. This is at the low point for Kevin Costner. This is in between Draft Day and Yellowstone.

[Seth]

Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Where he kind of fell off the grid for a while. So he went on the road with his band. I remember that he had. He was the lead singer of this band, and they were playing at the Smart Financial Center. The one is that. The one down in stafford, holds like 4,000 people. So the person promoting that concert, the day of the concert, calls our producer, who I think was. It might have been Matt Hammond at the time, I don't remember, and said, hey, do you guys. Do the guys want Kevin Costner on the show today? And Matt, the producer, whoever it was, gets in my ear and says, do you want Kevin Costner on the show today? I'm like, what are you talking about? And they're like, yeah, he's got a band and he's playing this. I'm like, oh, yeah, I want that bastard on the show today. We got some things to clear out. And so we did. We had him on the show and during the interview. So we're asking him questions about his band, whatever, you know, probably a field of dreams question. And Rich hits. Rich, tells me and Ted to all hit mute while Kevin Costner's talking. And Rich, like, you gotta bring up the nipple twist. I'm like, oh, don't worry. And so I brought it up with him. I said, hey, Kevin, do you remember doing all those interviews for Draft Day on Radio Row in New York a few years ago? He said, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So do you remember doing an interview with a station in Houston where the host's phone rang and the host tried to take back the phone, and your response was to twist his left nipple? He goes, oh, this is you guys. And then he invited us to the concert.

[Seth]

There you go.

[Peyton Pendergast]

He said, are you guys coming to the concert? And I didn't have the heart to tell him I had no idea this concert existed until 10 minutes ago. That doesn't answer the question, Sean. So we said no. I said no. I had plans to, but said no, look, you guys and your wives or girlfriends, whatever, you're gonna. I'm gonna get your names, I'm gonna put you on the list, and I'm gonna tell your producer what song we'll be playing when you need to go down to security to get backstage so we can hang out.

[Seth]

Wow. Yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. So we did. We did. And he gave us a huge group hug. Me, Rich and Ted. When he came from, we were waiting for him off stage. And he comes down and he's dapping a few people up, and he's got the towel around his neck like he's spring Steaming. That's right.

[Seth]

Like that.

[Peyton Pendergast]

And he kind of. He's kind of just dapping. He gets to us and we're like, hey, Kev. He's like, yeah. He goes, the radio guys. He's like, oh, my God, we're the radio. We're the radio guys. And he grabs the three of us in this big group hug, and he goes, I can't. I felt so sad after this. He goes, I can't believe you guys didn't punk out. Have you had people punking out on you? Is that the stage of your career you're at right now?

[Seth]

You got to remember, you said, you know, you pointed out that, like, it was on a low point between Draft Day and Yellowstone.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

It's not like Draft Day was well received.

[Peyton Pendergast]

No.

[Seth]

And it was the first two decades of this century. He really.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah.

[Seth]

He was looked at as like, what the hell happened to Kevin Costner? Yellowstone was his doing bad project after bad project after bad project.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Like a band. Yeah.

[Seth]

Yes.

[Peyton Pendergast]

So anyways, that's probably my most noteworthy brush with fame. But you've got a lot of them. You've got a lot of stories. And so I feel like the reason why I wanted to bring this up is there's an opportunity to bid on an auction where you can have lunch with. With Sean and Seth come Friday with the radio thon. That benefits the Houston Food bank. And you can get those stories and more. Or maybe, maybe, just maybe, you can get Sean to twist your left. You get. I'll do that. I'll do that. It'll cost more.

[Seth]

Oh, really?

[Peyton Pendergast]

An extra add on. Yeah, you're going to have to bid a thousand. Does that also go to the food Bank? Okay, but you're going to have to pay more.

[Seth]

I don't know if that was a

[Peyton Pendergast]

personal policy for you where it's like, hey, it's cost. If you want to do

[Seth]

it. We really deliver, too. I think both the parties that we had dinners with had a really good time last. At one point, Sean was telling a story and it was a funny story, and we were all laughing at it. And one of the guys said, man, Seth, what a good co host. Because you've probably heard that story eight times, you're still laughing at it. And I said, well, I don't. I'm not entirely listening mostly. So this is really like the first time I've actually. I've actually listened to the story.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah, we. And sometimes we even tell stories we can't tell on the radio. Oh, I see. And that's that's the good ones. Yeah, that's the brilliant stuff. So, yeah, 6A to 6P. Can't wait, man. We'll be doing that on Friday, myself and Ron. But Seth, you're already. You're already in to be with us during that time. Somewhere in there, right?

[Seth]

Yeah, whatever. You want me there?

[Peyton Pendergast]

For sure, for sure. And I'll be on there. I gotta. I gotta know what my cell phone situation. Yeah, that's the thing. We're gonna. Amy and I are gonna be driving through eastern Oregon and Southern Washington at that time. Oh, wow. Are we gonna need to get you like a satellite phone? Just star.

[Seth]

Get a little Starlink. Starlink, yeah.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Okay.

[Seth]

You get the kind that you can put on your car.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Okay. You can just do it for one month. Oh, okay. Well, it's. It's a rental car. Maybe the. Maybe Alamo or whoever has them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I will be on as well at some point. Yeah, I can't wait. You guys. You guys do great stuff with that, man. Thanks, man. And we. We can't do it without the support of everybody at Sports Rail 610. Gonna be a good day.

[Seth]

All right.

[Peyton Pendergast]

We are done. We. We are out of time. Crosstalk brought to you by DNM Auto Leasing Seth. Antibodies to you, my friend.

[Seth]

Antibodies to you. And I'm still disappointed that you didn't tell Kevin Costner that the real disappointment. Disappointment was that he neglected the other nipple.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Yeah. What a tease. All right, we're done. Make money from your podcast with the Odyssey Creator Lab. You create the show, we bring the advertisers. Apply [e-mail] everyone's talking about protein lately, but how do you actually get enough of it? Muscle Milk. Muscle Milk has a great tasting new formula with no artificial sweeteners, flavors or added colors. It's high quality complete protein designed to support healthy muscles with fewer ingredients than the previous formula and 26 to 42 grams of protein for when you're stuck in meetings or need a post workout recovery. Available in chocolate, vanilla, cream, cookies and cream, and strawberries and cream. Try the new great tasting Muscle Milk today available in stores nationwide. Muscle Milk protein for all now at McDonald's.

[Seth]

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[Seth]

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[Peyton Pendergast]

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[Seth]

there's only one Ozempic.

[Peyton Pendergast]

Hello, I'm Ozempic and I'm other GLP1s kind of like him. Ozempic. You redid your jingle? Ah, thanks for noticing. Catchy, right?

[Seth]

No.

[Peyton Pendergast]

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[Seth]

There's only one Ozempic.

[Peyton Pendergast]

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[Seth]

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[Peyton Pendergast]

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[Seth]

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